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Pretzel Buns sticking.. driving me nuts!

August 6, 2013 - 9:35am

adam_dolcebakery

Pretzel Buns sticking.. driving me nuts!

Hello all.. we are finally getting around to baking wholesale numbers of pretzel hamburger buns (pretzel brioche actually!) yet we are still dealing with the problem of the pretzel buns sticking to the cooling racks we bake them on. Why do we bake on cooling racks? I'll explain..

We are making pretzel brioche and the dough is very, very delicate. We have to proof them on the racks because once they have double in size, we then apply the lye bath to them. The cooling racks allow the lye to drip down into a lexan so we can reuse the lye. We can't at any point touch the buns with a tool or our hands and dip them by hand because the dough is so delicate. If we do, the dough will squash. So we have to leave them on the rack for the proofing process and basting with the lye.

I am going to try a teflon cooling rack but I am unsure if the lye with eat through it or become toxic. We sprayed pan release all over the chrome rack we currently use but we still had sticking. It's driving us nuts and we have people clamoring for these pretzel brioche buns.. any help or advice would be much appreciated. Thank you! :)

We tried that and after about 30-45 minutes in the proofer they looked like they had melted lol the steam from the proofer didn't react well with the dipped buns. I found that by simply pouring the lye solution over the buns with cold water worked really well they only stuck. :/

you used flat sheet pans (not a rimmed type)? After applying the lye bath, the pan could be tilted slightly to drain off the lye solution, but not so much that the rolls would develop a list to one side.

I don't know whether the proofed rolls are clinging to the cooling rack because a portion of the dough sags between the wires, If it does, a flat sheet might alleviate that problem.

maybe get a sheet pan and drill a few coin sized holes into them at those places where the rolls don't touch the sheet. You will then be able to dip the sheet into the lye solution and it will effectively drain off. This would be good even with a rimmed pan. After drilling the holes you might want to get a wooden rod bigger than the holes and hammer a couple of times at the hole - this will create a nice slope like in a shower cabin and the solution will drain off even easier.

I did lye pretzels (not so long ago...) we had to use parchment with pan release sprayed on it to get a good release. They stick like crazy.

Could you perhaps use that over the racks and just punch a few holes in the parchment to allow the lye to flow down after dipping? The parchment paper should survive a quick dip or however you are applying the lye solution.

you shouldn't punch, you should drill. Sheet pans are usually not very thick and my very recent experience tells me that they should be very easy to drill through with even a run-of-the-mill HSS twist drill bit. Another plus is that once you drill a sheet, you'll be able to use it for a very long time, while punching holes in parchment would be a daily chore.

I still suppose that your method should be superior stick-wise, because there's no guarantee that the rolls won't stick to the sheet anyways :) Maybe try one sheet and see how it goes?

was the reason for my suggestion - don't know how good the release would be from even sprayed sheet pans.

Here's an idea on the parchment paper. If it works - take a stack of sheets and clamp them together - then drill holes through the sheets so that you have produced a couple/three hundred at a time. Daily chore gone!

Most of our baking stuff is aluminum. Shouldn't be a problem. It may tun the screens black because of the alkaline reacting with the metal but that wont harm the product or people. I put a half sheet pan in the dishwasher instead of handwashing and it got some black spots due to the dishwasher soap. Black screens are better anyhow, attracts more heat.

Wow! You guys rule! Thank you so much for your suggestions. I brought a non stick rack to try tomorrow and I love the pizza screens.. didn't know about those! These suckers are so delicate... they're essentially a doughnut. I will keep everyone posted and try to post a pic when they are done. Cheers!

I've heard of bakers brushing on or spritzing on diluted lye solution with an atomizer instead of dipping. Perhaps that would be more time consuming for you though since it sounds like you're making quite a few pretzels.

I think my problem is proofing them in the grated pans. When they proof they "grow" into the holes and get stuck. I dunno, I am still going to try these ideas and others until I get it right. This has to happen. It's a feeding frenzy! Here are some pics though:

This grated rack (a normal cooling rack) worked almost. The buns just barely stuck. But still some pulled off. I am going to try and make more today.

These are some "pull apart" pretzel brioche. These stuck a little too but came out great otherwise. Rolled out a 4 oz little hot dog bun, chopped it into about 6 pieces, then took the pieces and placed them side by side to one another, THEN proofed them which made them stick together. Baked them off, and wham. Perfect little bite sized, pull apart, pretzel loaves. I am making a bunch of them today, just for us to eat. :)

if you proofed them upside down and turned them onto the rack just before dunking. Swelling would be done on a flat or couched surface. Some kind of spacers at the corners to prevent squashing may be needed or slipping your fist between the two while inverting. Then dunking or spraying or brushing with a big soft brush (wall paper paste type) with lye. ???

BOO YA. This pan worked. I sprayed it well with pan release, proofed them, then poured the lye over them. Then I coated them with seeds, etc. It worked. No sticking although I did run out of lye broth as you can see on some of the pull apart loaves. Cheers!

I saw them in a local supply store. They were pricey. About $25 a piece. Maybe do a search for perforated sheet pans? I don't know the exact name of them but they are so far the only thing that works. Cheers!

Once my * Laugen Bretzel or Broetchen * have proofed on a baking tray that is lined with pachment Paper, I put them in the freezer for 30 minutes before I dip them in Bicarbonate of Soda and place them on another parchment lined baking tray and bake.

I do have perforated baking trays , 2 of them, but since I do not use lye there is no need for those.

I do not use lye since I found that Bicarbonate of Soda gives me the same good old * Laugen Bretzel * taste that I grew up with in Germany:)

Hi Everyone - I've been now experimenting with dipping my cold-proofed pretzels with a perforated stainless steel steam pan. I do have some trouble, though. Sometimes the pretzels just float nicely, and sometimes they stick to the bottom of the pan. Then I'm digging my pretzels off of a hot lye-dipped pan, and it's a mess. Any thoughts?

I still do not have a great system for dipping my breads. Hot vs. cold... chilled dough vs. room temp dough... What I want is a shiny, chewy, seamless crust. No bubbles. I've experimented with a few different temperatures in my oven. Could the problem be moisture? Do I need to add moisture to my oven, to help the crust? It's driving me nuts to try and achieve the "perfect"-looking pretzel. My taste is spot-on. It's the appearance that could be better. Any ideas?

Also: who wants to talk shop on lye bath %'s? I have been using a 3.5% solution at 10 seconds. I have heard from a guy that uses an 8% solution for 1 second. What do you do?

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